


A World in a Grain of Sand

by DostoevskyBrosK



Category: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I just love Georgiana and Darcy being best friend sibling friends, I just think all old women should be witches, Sweet Brother and Sister Relationship, Weird Witch Stuff, but in a fun way, do i write anything else?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29905470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DostoevskyBrosK/pseuds/DostoevskyBrosK
Summary: Elizabeth still cannot believe that Mr. Darcy proposed to her. She keeps trying to wrap her mind around it, especially since he did it in such a terrible way. She was thinking about how much he frustrates her, when she stumbles upon a small child. He doesn’t seem to belong to anyone, and a fierce storm drives her to simply return to Longbourn to wait it out before they find the family the boy belongs with. . .
Relationships: Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy
Comments: 11
Kudos: 27





	A World in a Grain of Sand

**Author's Note:**

> I love a de-aged fic, so, of course, I wanted to see what I could do with it for Lizzy and Darcy. I hope you enjoy what I came up with! I thought since we are dealing with a wee Darcy here, it would be fun to go with one of the best poets for children: William Blake. He is such a wild kid! I am going to slow down my posting because I don’t want to burn myself out. I would really like to be consistent with when I post – so for this story I will post a new chapter every Sunday. It is all written. I am just working on editing and refining it.  
> Note: This story is written by me (although obviously inspired by another's work). I do not want this posted anywhere else.  
> © All rights reserved.  
> No part of this publication (unless for personal use) may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, stored in a database and / or published in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Elizabeth had just recently arrived back to Longbourn from her travels to Kent, which were far more exciting than she expected. _Exciting. That is one word for it._ She absently kicked at a pebble in the path, feeling frustrated and unable to express that frustration. _I still cannot believe Mr. Darcy. In so many ways he confuses me. He proposes in that ridiculous manner. He almost seemed to go out of his way to insult me, and yet he claimed he loved me. Unbelievable._

Elizabeth closed her eyes and could just about hear his cold voice washing over her yet again. “Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections.” _Ugh._ Elizabeth felt overwhelmed with the desire to scream. _And then, as if that was not bad enough, he shocks me with giving me a letter. I barely have time to read it and try to understand everything that it means, and he leaves. He clearly tried to give me ample time to examine Colonel Fitzwilliam, which shows that he both believes I would not trust him and that he is confident in the backing his cousin would provide. I dare not doubt his veracity in any event. He would not make up such a dangerous story about his sister if it were not true. Which just makes everything even more confusing._

_He was . . . is . . . was? A very disagreeable man. He was prideful when he came here, and he was difficult. But that does not mean I should have so quickly believed Mr. Wickham. I hardly knew him, and he so readily poured out that story for me. I think that shows I was more ready to hear something unkind about Mr. Darcy, which hardly does me credit. And then, as soon as Mr. Darcy had left the area, Mr. Wickham started telling everyone the story. That seems dubious at best._

Elizabeth sighed and leaned down, picking up a fallen leaf. She absently tore it to shreds. _I am so tired of turning this all over in my mind again and again, but what am I to do or think. One has got all the goodness and the other the appearance of it. It really is vexing._

Although Elizabeth did not particularly want to continue thinking of this same, tired subject she had been worrying in her mind for a few weeks now, she felt herself a bit miffed when her walk was interrupted a few moments later.

An older woman, with stringy white hair that flew all about her in a disorderly fashion approached Elizabeth. Her eyes were uncommonly bright, almost as if due to a sickness, but they were also crystal clear. To Elizabeth’s surprise she found that they were a deep purple in color. Her skin looked like it would crack at the slightest movement. “Excuse me, young miss. I just have a few questions for you.”

Elizabeth tried to greet her pleasantly, having no cause to be rude to a stranger. She smothered her frustration at being interrupted. _A bit odd. I thought I knew most of the people in this village at least by sight. Perhaps she is visiting someone and has gotten lost_. “Hello Madam. Do you need help with anything?”

The older woman seemed to nod her head in response to something Elizabeth could not quite see. “Yes, I do rather. You see. I am having a debate with a dear old friend; you know how those kinds of conversations go. We have a different opinion that we just have not been able to settle between us for . . .oh the last millennia or so.”

 _Oh dear. She cannot be that old. But I better humor her. “_ Yes?”  
“Yes. And it seems you are going to be the deciding factor for us this part of the century.”

Elizabeth tried to nod politely at her but felt a bit unsure. _She seems very unwell._

The old woman stumbled, and Elizabeth instinctively reached out an arm to steady her. The old woman took it with a smile and squeezed her arm as she leaned against it. “See. I knew you would be a good choice. We really do try to be careful with this sort of thing. We do not want it to get too out of control, but it can all be so boring. Don’t you find?”

“I am not sure I am following you, Old Mother.”

She nodded, “Very wise of you to say so, my dear. Now. Here is what I want to ask you. Do you think it is important to care for others?”

 _That is it? That is the question?_ Elizabeth was sure she misunderstood something somewhere. “Yes, of course, it is important to care for others.”

The old woman smiled and patted her a few times. “I knew you would say that. Even down to the ‘of course.’ You know, of course” the old woman’s eyes twinkled at Elizabeth “that not everyone would say that. So you are a find, even if you think the answer rather self-evident. Now, you be careful. I quite like you, and I want this to all work out well – not just for the sake of my bet. Will you care for someone you find who has no one else there to protect them?”

“Yes, naturally.”

“Be sure that you do, Miss Elizabeth. Be sure that you do.” The old woman directed their path down to a quickly moving stream. She relied on Elizabeth’s arm more and more as they moved to it. “Sit down with me here, by the water, Miss Elizabeth. That’s it. You will find that you need rest, I think. So, why don’t you tell me of your sisters to pass the time?”

Elizabeth felt like her head was getting stuffed with cotton the longer she talked with this older woman. She shook it, trying to remember if she had told her what her name was. It did not seem to do any good. She walked and sat with the old woman for at least a half hour, but when they were done it seemed like they had only said hello to each other. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darcy steered Hyperion, his horse, carefully through Hyde Park. He hated being in London and felt suffocated by all of the people. He wanted to avoid seeing anyone, but he knew he could not leave the city just yet. He sighed and allowed himself to crumple in the saddle just for a second. Then he forced himself to take a deep breath and straighten up.

 _It would not do any good to get one of the gossips started on how Mr. Darcy looks so worn. He needs a good wife to care for him, does he not._ Darcy felt frustrated and stifled. This year already seemed like the worst one. Georgiana continued to suffer extreme shyness and uncertainty. Darcy was sure he had not been what she wholly needed. Then, all through the winter he felt beset by visions of Elizabeth. She was so graceful, witty, and kind. He longed to see her sparkling eyes and hear her conversation. And yet, when he finally got the chance to experience her again, with his cousin in tow, he was so excited for Richard to know her, it all fell apart. Or rather, he tore it all apart.

 _I am such an idiot. How could I think that was the way to woo her? Did I really tell her I liked her despite everything about her_? He wanted to slap himself in the face. _And her response. She did not merely reject my suit. She shamed me. She put me down and exposed my true character. It cannot be that is who I really am? Is it?_ Darcy felt himself poking at the sore that had not been able to heal these past two weeks. It felt fresh each day as he remembered what she said to him. He shook his head in distress. _Why must I keep thinking on it? Every single day. It feels like all I do is relive that terrible proposal and rejection. More like decimation._

Darcy was so caught up with his own thoughts he missed seeing an older woman just ahead. If he had been more aware, he would have sworn that she materialized out of the tree. Not from behind the trees – _out of it_. But he was too caught up in his own thinking and frustrations to realize what he witnessed. He pulled Hyperion up quickly, not wanting to hurt this older woman who now stood in front of him. She seemed to be having trouble with something, so he stopped Hyperion altogether and slid off his back.

Patting his horse absently in comfort, Darcy bowed gently to the woman. “Do you need help, Madam.” He gestured to where her ankle seemed to be caught in between the rocks.

“Oh, thank you, sir. Do you know I have waited here for someone to come help me for a while?”

“I am not surprised, madam. This is a rather out of the way part of the park. Not many people come all the way back here.”

She smiled at him. “What if I were to tell you that four different men have ridden past me. None of them stopped to help me.”

Darcy felt himself blushing for some reason, feeling a bit flustered. “Then I suppose they were not paying enough attention. I cannot imagine that they saw you and did nothing. Surely they missed you were in distress?”

“That is what you think?” She smiled at him, while he worked on gently pulling her leg out from where it was held by the rocks. He freed her fairly easily.

“There you go, Madam.” He stood back up. “Do you feel well. Does it hurt to walk on? It seems alright, but perhaps you should test it.”

The older woman made a show of circling her ankle around. “It seems just fine, sir. In fact, I think it feels even better than before.”

“Does it?” Darcy felt like he missed a step several moments back. _What is going on? Why does she seem so strange?_ He looked up at her, noting the surprising vibrancy of her purple eyes. _Have I ever seen purple eyes before?_ He shook his head trying to dispel his fanciful thoughts.

“Can I help you get anywhere?” He asked.

The old woman surprised him by coming closer and putting her hand on his cheek. Suddenly, Darcy felt he was a child again, getting to spend some much-coveted time with his mother. She would often stroke his cheek and hug him to her. The old woman smiled, “She loved you a great deal, you know.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your mother. I could tell you were thinking of her. It has been hard with her gone for so long, has it not?”

Darcy was getting more and more flustered and confused, “I am sorry, but do I know you?”

The old woman just shook her head, “Not as such, no. And I do not think you will remember this meeting either. We have that way about us. But this you will remember. I want to give you a blessing. You deserve one in your life, I think. Yet, to properly receive this blessing, I need you to get yourself to Hertfordshire. You know the area. Let your spirit guide you.” She patted his face a few times and even leaned up to kiss Darcy on his forehead. The feeling of warmth that spread throughout his body from that kiss would stay with Darcy far longer than the memory of the old woman in the park.

By the time he had remounted Hyperion he had quite forgotten why he had dismounted in the first place. Shaking his head at himself, he set their path back to their London home. _I need to pack for Hertfordshire it seems._ He thought without really realizing he was thinking it. _I would like to leave in the next two hours._ _I will need to write a letter to Georgiana telling her where I have gone, but I do not think I need to set up any accommodations._ At any other time, Darcy would have thought all of this very strange, but nothing could have seemed more natural to him in this moment. 

**Author's Note:**

> Both the title for this work and for this chapter come from the opening of Blake’s [ Auguries of Innocence ](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43650/auguries-of-innocence)  
> . These are four of my favorite lines in all of poetry, so I will include the opening here:  
> “To see a World in a Grain of Sand  
> And a Heaven in a Wild Flower  
> Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand  
> And Eternity in an hour.”


End file.
